Traveling down Route 66 makes me want to be a 1950s American babe

Driving down Route 66 makes me think back to the 1950s American glamour girls with curves and red lipstick, sipping a soda on the corner. All the Cadillacs, drive throughs, diners, and dusty motel rooms, even though faded, have not lost their iconic style. These 50s Babes ate burgers and ice cream sundaes, yet when my friends and I tuck into our burgers there remains a tinge of guilt – but why?

As girls in our 20s we are constantly bombarded in the media about body image. Was Kate Moss right, and does “nothing taste as good as skinny feels?” When I look up at the posters of Marylin Monroe in these dated diners, I don’t see the kind of bodies that pop up on my Instagram newsfeed. Marylin’s sass is eye catching and makes me wonder if we should be so critical of curves. Wouldn’t life be better if we could go back to the swinging 50s where natural femininity was appreciated?

Many of the towns I’ve visited in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, are now sleepy and dusty as many travelers zoom past on the interstate 40. These faded towns, and the women that adorn their diner walls, are timeless. They inspire me to wear more high waisted shorts, buy a bolder lipstick color, and bat my eye lashes whilst eating ice cream sundaes.

However as modern women we don’t want to go back to playing the ‘dumb-blonde’ anymore, but there is a lot we can learn from the timeless babes of the 1950s. Their confidence in their own curvy natural body shape is something that many women at the moment lack. It is a constant trend that we always want to be a different shape to the one that we currently are, which unfortunately just leads to a state of uncertainly and embarrassment about body image.

I think this embarrassment is so unnecessary, as the sexiest thing you can be is confident. The sass and confidence of the 1950s pin-up girls just shows that no one cares or notices a tummy roll when you are bold, busty, and beautiful.